By Bud Angst
(For the Feb. 28, 2008, Call, Schuylkill Haven, PA, & the West Schuylkill Press-Herald)

The long-standing controversy over the so-called “1912 Building” at Rest Haven may be coming to a conclusion. As the Call & Press-Herald went to press this week, the North Manheim Township Supervisors were scheduled to tour the building, hopefully to determine whether the township will choose to make a formal offer to buy it.

Already under consideration by the Schuylkill County Commissioners is an offer from the Penn State-Schuylkill Advisory Board to purchase the vacant building and an associated 34-acre tract for the sum of $450,000.

The entire issue became a matter of public controversy when the County’s apparent intention to accept the PSU-Schuylkill offer became public after a motion to accept the PSU offer was accidentally included – and then stricken off – the official agenda of a previous commissioners’ meeting.

This week’s tour of the 1912 Building by Township officials was arranged after a confrontation at last week’s commissioners’ meeting between County Solicitor Eric Mika and a delegation headed by Township Supervisor Barbara Miller and Township Solicitor Thomas Lisella. Among the matters raised by Mika was a claim that the Township has never made a formal offer to purchase the building.

Miller and Lisella countered Mika’s claim with reference to a sheaf of records purporting to be “time-line” evidence of township negotiations attempts that date back over the course of the last 10 years to the time (1997) when the controversial building, then an operating part of the Rest Haven Complex, was closed.

All such overtures, of course, were directed to the previous board of county commissioners, then under Republican control. Political control of the Schuylkill County Board of Commissioners changed to Democrat after the past November election and the change apparently stimulated a renewed interest on the part of the PSU Board.

Miller also challenged statements alleged to county officials that the Township hopes to acquire the building “for free.”

“That’s absolutely false,” Miller said. “We have the money. We can exceed the $450,000 price tag.”

Mika, however, claimed that the only formal offer to purchase the building came from the Penn State Schuylkill Campus Advisory Board.

“”I don’t understand why there’s an issue here,” the County Solicitor said. “The board (of commissioners) doesn’t have a credible and legitimate proposal from the Township.”

Lisella presented the proposition that possibly the acreage associated with the proposed sale was more critical to the Township than the 1912 building itself. The Township, he said, has no plans to tear down the building but fears the proposed Penn State acquisition would limit the Township’s need to expand its own facilities.

Perhaps the acreage associated with the proposed sale could be “broken up,” Lisella suggested, in such a “reasonable approach” manner that both Penn State and the Township “can acquire a portion.”

During the discussion, Mika also ruled that County Controller Melinda Kantner was “out of order” when she attempted to participate in the discussion. Controller Kantner is a N. Manheim resident and a member of the Township’s Planning Commission. (See associated story in this edition.)

In an action relevant to the proposed sale of the 1912 Building regardless of the identity of the buyer, the county commissioners approved a motion to hire Hudack Appraisal Services, Frackville, to appraise the building and associated acreage at a cost of $4,500. Such an appraisal is a prerequisite to any proposed sale of the property.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 2:24 pm and is filed under News.